


This Is Lovecanthropy

by orphan_account



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Library, Fluff, M/M, Oblivious Derek, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-08
Updated: 2014-02-08
Packaged: 2018-01-11 11:49:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1172717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Valentine's Day is closely approaching, and Derek is a disgruntled grad student who works at a library. He's hit a roadblock on his thesis, he's harboring a (not so secret) crush on Stiles, and he keeps receiving werewolf-themed gifts from a secret admirer.  </p><p>Basically, Derek is totally oblivious and angsty, Stiles does a lot of planning off-screen, and Erica and Scott are awesome friends who are awesome.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Is Lovecanthropy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Swing Set in December (swing_set13)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/swing_set13/gifts).



> This is un-beta'd, so all mistakes are mine. But I love feedback, so let me know what you think :) 
> 
> First - I originally wrote this because I was looking through swingsetindecember's fic request tag and one of the posts was about a curmudgeonly Derek who was a librarian or grad student wearing tweed. This somehow morphed into not really that, with the bonus of Valentine's Day. 
> 
> Second - I will never stop writing Boyd and Erica because I love them too much. Also in my headcanon Erica is a either a white-passing/mixed Latina. I have a lot of feelings about her and Melissa listening to Celia Cruz or Selena together in the hospital (though that doesn't show up anywhere in this fic).
> 
> Third - Apologies to grad students everywhere. I'm just a lowly undergrad, so I probably butchered that part - I do work in a library though. The Circulation Desk is right across the room from the Reference Help/Research Desk.
> 
> Four - I tagged this as fluff but I'm pretty sure it's just corny, as you can probably tell from the title.

# This is Lovecanthropy

### Thursday, February Sixth, 12:56 A.M. 

When Derek gets into work, muttering about _why is it so cold I hate February I hate the snow I hate everything_ , Erica is leaning far over the front desk, laughing at a freshman who had dropped all of his books all over the floor. She's at the middle workstation, ignoring the blinking computer screen telling her to sign into their circulation program.

“You know we charge people for damaging college material,” she says in a singsong voice. Isaac, who is sitting at the right workstation, looks like he’s trying not to laugh. His fingers are tightly gripping the textbook he has in front of him, and his shoulders are shaking. There is an annoyed brunette standing on the other side of the desk, a library book in her hand.

“We have a patron,” Derek points out, with a warning tone in his voice, as he moves to take off his jacket and hat.

Isaac immediately straightens up, calling to the brunette that he can help her. Erica doesn’t even flinch; she just flips her blond curls over her shoulder, dismissing Derek entirely. Derek rolls his eyes, and half listens as the freshman pushes his books onto the desk, stumbling over his words as he apologizes for being so clumsy. Erica is choking down her laughter as she checks out his books.

“You need to stop flustering the first years,” Derek hears Isaac comment after the freshman has slunk away.

“But I’m not even doing anything. I’m literally just standing here. If they can’t control themselves over a pair of breasts, they deserve their humiliation,” Erica comments.

When Isaac just rolls his eyes at her, Erica winks and turns to Derek.

“’Sup, Der?” she asks, smiling at him sweetly. “Time for us to pack up already?”

Derek nods towards the clock, hanging on the far end of the library. “Yeah, it’s five to one. How’d that Spanish paper turn out?”

Erica shrugs. “My professor is riding my ass because he says I keep using colloquial language. It’s just so annoying, because you have this dude thinking that just because he lived in Nicaragua for five years that he can speak better Spanish then a native speaker. If he spoke to my Pops with the Spanish that he tries to teach us, he would get laughed out the house. Whatever.”

Derek raises his eyebrows at her. “Welcome to college.”

“Ugh,” Erica frowns. “Don’t remind me. Graduation is too many years away.”

Isaac, who is packing up at his workstation, grunts. “Say that again. I’m up to my ass in statistics. I hate math. And fucking Lydia won’t help me. Isn’t she like, a genius or something?”

Derek and Erica look over to the Research Desk, where Lydia and Stiles are on either side of a timid-looking girl with braces. The two of them seem to be arguing over something, both of them pointing their hands towards the screen. Stiles glances up and gives a head nod towards the Circulation Desk, a smile spreading on his face. Derek tries to stop his eyebrows from doing something complicated, and looks away.

“So, Derek,” Erica says, trying to sound innocent, “Got any plans for Valentine’s Day?”

Derek pauses, his hands hovering over the drawer where their timesheets are kept. He glances up to see Erica’s grin, looking slightly feral and one hundred percent devious.

“Why? Planning on asking me out?” He shoots back, even though he knows where she's going with this. Ever since she first noticed his _preoccupation_ with the Research Desk, she just refuses to give up making fun of him about Stiles. He's pretty sure she's even been trying to convince Boyd and Isaac to start in on him too.

“I already know I’m not your type,” Erica says, “Or else you wouldn’t have pushed me off of you that one time at that party where I almost tackled you to the ground. You remember that? I was so drunk, oh my God, I was convinced you were going to do the thing, like from _Dirty Dancing_ – anyway. Not the point. You planning on tapping Stilinski or what?”

Derek can hear Isaac making a choking sound. When he glances over, Isaac is looking back with a sour face. Derek smirks. For some reason, Isaac and Stiles have this weird feud going on over Scott McCall. Whenever Stiles roamed by the Circulation Desk when Isaac is working, he always mutteres curses about being a best friend stealer.

“I’m just saying,” Isaac says, putting his hands up as if in surrender, “He’s weird as hell. Also he keeps making fun of my scarves for no reason.”

“Oh poor you, he won’t play _Mario Kart_ if you’re in Scott’s dorm room,” Erica says, rolling her eyes. “Could you shut up so we can get back to the conversation at hand?”

Derek says, “There is no conversation at hand. What are you even talking about?”

Erica arches one of her eyebrows. “I think we both know what I’m talking about. Every time I’m finishing homework on one of your shifts, nine times out of ten Stiles is over here trying to talk to you. Why don’t you ask him out already?”

Derek sighs, and pulled out his timesheet to sign. “First, Stiles talks at anything that moves-”

“Yeah, but not about the stuff he talks to you about. Like I’m sure you know more about his dad and what he and Scott did when they were kids and his overloaded class schedule then anyone else does,” Erica points out. “Plus, he’s the only one who actually listens to you ramble about your thesis.”

“She’s right. No one else really gives a crap. Also, he's never made fun of your reasearch, either. I'm actually surprised about that... mostly because he's an asshole. But it's also impressive because he's literally the only one who's never laughed at you for that," Isaac adds. 

“Yeah, thanks for that,” Derek says flatly. “Keep laughing, my whole graduate degree is one big joke.”

Erica flaps her hand at him. “Spare us the dramatics, this is boring and horrible. Anyway, he’s got to be into you.”

“We’re done with this conversation,” Derek says, annoyed. He loves Erica, but she just doesn't know when to stop. Yeah, Derek and Stiles talked, a lot. But that's it. They never saw each other except when they were at work. Stiles flirted with him a little, but Stiles flirted with everyone. So it didn’t matter. Erica was just stirring up trouble. Like always.

“Ugh, you’re so sad and lonely. I can’t take this and your excuses anymore. Just sign me out on the timesheet,” she says, rolling her eyes.

“Also at this point, someone’s probably already asked him out,” Isaac says helpfully, packing his book into his bag. “I asked Allison out weeks ago. Kira from the Research Desk is taking Scott out. Stiles is mildly attractive; I’m sure someone’s already asked.”

“I’d say he’s more then mildly attractive -” Erica cuts herself off once she notices the death glare Derek is shooting her. “I mean, look at the time.”

“Yeah, would you look at that. Bye.” Derek says, hip-checking Erica and moving into her spot behind the middle workstation.

“I’m done for tonight, but we’re going to have a chat about your feelings later,” Erica says, shooting him a pointed look before flouncing off. Isaac follows behind her after squeezing Derek’s shoulder. Boyd, who is waiting for them at the front door, raises his arm in a wave. Derek nods back, and turns to the computer to sign in. He pulls his laptop from out of his bag and opens it, his thesis staring back at him in mocking.

He had worked at the Circulation Desk all through undergrad, and when his boss had found out that he is staying around to do his thesis, had offered him to work the graveyard shift by himself. From one A.M. to six A.M., he got to quietly work on his research while checking out a few books. Or rather, that was supposed to be the plan. Nowadays he spends most of his time trying not to throw his laptop across the main floor in frustration.

“Hey, Derek,” a familiar voice says from across the desk not fifteen minutes later. Derek looks up to see Stiles standing across from him, bundled up in a black beanie and a heavy down jacket. He tries not to smile at the sight. It's stupid, but his kid sister, Cora, had walked in once when he had been talking to Stiles. She told him that his ‘awkward bunny teeth’ were freaking her out and to stop it because no one found them attractive.

“Stiles,” he says. “How’s it going?”

Stiles shrugs, and leans on the desk. “Nothing really. We’re about to close the desk for the night.”

Derek looks over to the Research Desk, where Lydia is fluffing up her red hair. She looks up to catch him staring, and purses her lips. Derek looks back at Stiles in time to see him rolling his eyes.

“Lydia and I spent like, an hour arguing about JSTOR. I said it's a good starter resource, and she said it should be a last resort. What's with her, right? I don’t even know why she is there. She isn’t even supposed to be working! The student we were helping is doing a humanities project, not anything in STEM. I mean, yeah, so Lydia is double majoring in Classics and Math, but that’s not the point. I was actually hired for my researching skills, not to have her perfect, beautiful mouth breathing down my neck every five seconds-”

“Sounds rough,” Derek says, interrupting. He found out early on that cutting Stiles off in the very beginning got to spare him the agony of listening to how perfect Lydia is.

Erica wanted a good reason for not asking Stiles out? Well, there it was. Even though Lydia didn’t really seem to be into Stiles, Derek isn’t about to ask someone out who is so clearly into another person. And anyway, he’s a grown man; what is he even doing having a crush on someone who couldn’t even drink legally yet?

Stiles chuckles, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Yeah, sorry. Anyway. How’ve you been? Still feeling stuck on your thesis? Lost amidst a sea of too much werewolf lore?”

Derek grimaces. Stuck isn’t exactly the word for it. After spending so much time researching mythology, he's sick of it. He's at the point where he can't even remember why he first enjoyed the mythos surrounding werewolves in the first place.

He says, “You could say that.”

Stiles looks at him sympathetically. “Well, what do you think the problem is?”

Derek doesn’t even know where to start with what the problem is. Mostly it's that he has sixty pages down and he just feels like everything he's saying is a summary of American myth instead of actually bringing up new concepts. He had been feeling so great about his writing all last semester, but things just took a downward, self-depreciating turn once it hit January.

While he stands frowning instead of answering, Stiles says, “Maybe you’re too focused on the academic stuff, like the pressure of it? Instead of focusing on why you love what you’re writing. I remember when I first met you, I was outside Professor Morrell’s office; you were arguing that lycanthropy just had to mean something more then human’s true animalistic nature and all of that. Morell ended up throwing her cup of tea at you, and - ”

He abruptly cuts himself off, and as Derek continues to just stare.

That happened about two years prior; he remembers because after that conversation he switched advisors, much to the chagrin of the administration. Derek doesn’t even know how to feel. He had been pretty sure the first time he had met Stiles was when he had come flailing into the library, introducing himself as the newest Student Research Assistant.

“I mean, we didn’t formally met,” Stile backtracks, “But it’s kind of hard to ignore angry, growling shouts about werewolves. Follows by getting shoved by a dude in a tweed jacket who smells like chamomile.”

Derek feels himself stiffen. Because of course. Who wouldn’t remember some geek shouting at his professor?

Stiles continues, “Anyway, maybe that’s the problem? You’re just not passionate about it anymore? Maybe you need something to remind you why you love what you’re doing. Or, you know. Maybe you need a distraction.”

Derek thinks of all the nights he hadn’t written a word because Stiles had been sitting at a table in his line of view, practically fellating a pen as he tried to do homework. Yeah, a distraction. That’s what he needed.

“Maybe,” he says.

“Yeah,” Stiles says, looking nervous. He glances over his shoulder, looking over at the Research Desk. Lydia is still there, this time pursing her lips at a compact mirror. When he looks back at Derek, he seems more determined. “A distraction.”

Derek feels himself begin to clam up, as he tries to carefully school his features into a blank look. He hated this, how petty he felt, how it squeezed at his heart and made him feel like a petulant child. He's pretty sure Stiles isn’t looking at him the way he always stares at Lydia. But that was life, right? He just needed to get over Stiles. He could do that.

It's just really fucking rough when Stiles is standing only a foot away, projecting his love for Lydia across the room.

“Yeah, well,” he forces himself to say, “Guess I’d better try to get back to work. Try and work through this rough patch.”

Stiles says intensely, “Sometimes you just have to power through and do it. Like, you know. Asking someone out. Such as, asking someone out for Valentine’s Day?”

He glances back at Lydia again, who is now checking out a pair of twins that are working near her desk. One of them is rolling his eyes, and the other one is clearly looking back at Lydia. Stiles takes a deep breath before he turns back around to look at Derek.

“It’s just so easy for some people, you know?” Stiles asks, looking at Derek searchingly.

Derek feels his gut twist, as words just seemed to fall out of his mouth. “It’s not – I mean, anyone would be glad to go on a date with you. It’s not that hard. Asking, I mean. Even if it can’t be for Valentine’s Day, because it’s last minute, you can always ask for another day.”

Stiles stares at Derek as he speaks, a small smile creeping on his face. “Derek.”

Derek tries to smile back. “You should just go for it. I’m sure she’d say yes.”

“I – wait, what?” Stiles asks, looking confused.

“You know, Lydia,” Derek says, trying not to be too obvious as he gestures towards her. “She – well she probably has a date for Valentine's, but I’m sure she would say yes for another night?”

Stiles says, “Wait, you think I’m talking about Lydia?”

Derek gestures awkwardly, raising his eyebrows. “It’s kind of obvious?”

Derek watches Stiles’s face go pale, and his eyes widen in panic.

“I’m sure it’s not obvious to her,” he says quickly, though he's pretty positive Lydia had dealt with enough lovesick boys in her life to know when someone is drooling over her. “But even, so, the worst she can say is no.”

Before Stiles can say anything, Lydia is coming over, looking extremely unimpressed with Derek.

“Hello, Derek. I see you’re still doing the whole Grandpa look,” she says.

Derek glares at her. Cable knit sweaters are warm, okay? “Lydia.”

Lydia eyes him for a few moments. “But it’s fine. You make up for it with those incredibly tight jeans.”

Before Derek can react, Stiles begins to cough, his whole face and ears turning a bright red that Derek tells himself is not attractive in any way whatsoever.

Lydia hits Stiles on the back. “I can see you’ve failed and are ready to leave.”

Stiles sputters, and pushes Lydia’s arm away. “Always such a sweet angel you are, Lydia.”

Lydia shoots Derek a smile, before pulling on Stiles’s arm towards the exit. Stiles looks back and waves to Derek, a tight smile on his face. Derek manages to wave back, heart sinking as he watches them go.

He spends the rest of his shift going through Stiles’s photos on Facebook and taking Sporcle quizzes, not writing one new sentence.

 

### Friday, February Seventh, 2:12 A.M.

“Hey there, Derek,” Scott says, sliding up to the Circulation Desk. Derek glances at the clock on his laptop. It's after two in the morning.

“Scott?” Derek asks, raising his eyebrows. Scott never stops by the desk to talk to him. Sometimes he awkwardly waves as he’s leaving, but the two of them usually only interact when they’re both working at the same time.

“I was just stopping by to say hi,” he says, looking uncomfortable. Derek hears a buzzing noise, and Scott reaches into his jacket pocket. He pulls out his cell phone and scowls, before rapidly responding.

“Okay?” Derek actually really likes Scott, and thought they were slowly beginning to get along well. When they had first met, it was like oil and water. Scott didn’t want advice about sorting books when they were being checked back in; Scott thought Derek was too quiet and creepy (according to Isaac). It had taken a while for him to even earn one of those infamous Scott McCall smiles. But now, Derek is working at the desk by himself and Scott is looking around in a shifty way, and Derek really isn’t sure what is going on.

“And, also. Other stuff,” Scott says, nodding his head, looking slightly disgruntled. His phone buzzes for about a minute straight, Scott gripping it tightly in his palm.

“Okay?” Derek repeats himself.

“How’s your thesis?” Scott blurts out. “Still not making any headway?”

Derek glares. Did everyone know about how he was turning into a complete failure? “Can we not talk about that?”

Scott grimaces, and says, “Sorry. So… got any plans Valentine’s Day?”

“What.” Derek stares at Scott.

Scott smiles at him. “You know, the big V-Day. Got any plans?”

Derek raises his eyebrows. “Why?”

Scott’s smile falls off of his face, and he glares back at Derek. “Can’t I make conversation with one of my friends?”

Derek has no idea what the hell is going on. “I have no idea what the hell is going on.”

Scott groans, and turns his glare towards his phone. “Look, I know I’m being weird. But I really need some advice for Valentine’s Day, and I didn’t know how to bring this up.”

“You want advice? From me?” Derek asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Yeah, dude. I know we’re not really close, but I’m trying to figure out a gift that’s romantic and mature. Kira asked me out and she’s super sweet and cute, and I just don’t want to mess up. It’s our first actual date. I need some advice that’s not gonna come from another horny twenty year old.”

“I…?” Derek has to blink a few times, his eyebrows scrunching lower then they ever had before on his face.

Scott smiles wryly, and says, “A lot of people around here seem to think you’re cool and sexy and mature. You think you can help me out?”

Derek immediately thinks of Stiles, and wonders if he thinks Derek is cool and sexy and mature. But then he feels himself glare, and pushes the thought down as he sees how earnestly Scott is staring at him. Derek is probably the oldest person Scott knows that isn’t his mother's age. If he wanted advice, Derek was literally the only option he had.

“Fine,” Derek says, and sighs.

Scott’s mouth split into the widest smile Derek had ever seen, and he pulls a notebook out of his bag. Derek can see there are a number of questions written down on the page.

“Okay. Thanks so much, dude. What would really impress you, like on a first date?” Scott asks. “An expensive dinner? Doing something active like hiking?”

Derek shrugs. “Well, it’s too cold to go hiking. And to be honest, how much money you spend doesn’t really matter. Especially in college, no one should expect their dates to drop loads of cash. Something simple, easy. Staying in, ordering food or something.”

Scott nods, scribbling everything down. “Okay. But what do you order? Do you wait and make a choice together, or order for the other person?”

Derek frowns. “Does that really matter? Everyone loves pizza.”

“And then what? Making out on the couch, or walking around the park?”

“Well, maybe going out to a movie? Or staying in, and watching one? Look, Scott, I don't think I'm the most romantic person around here. I know you wanted an opinion from someone older, but... shouldn’t you be asking Kira’s friends this? They would know better what _she_ likes. That’s the most important part.”

Scott smiles. “But that would ruin the surprise. Our friends have the biggest mouths ever. And also, they aren’t the most sophisticated when it comes to this sort of thing. At least you're still supporting the dinner and a movie route. Yesterday Allison told Danny that she thought his new boyfriend would enjoy going to play Laser Tag with her and Isaac. Laser Tag! On Valentine's Day!”

“Scott, you love Laser Tag,” Derek points out. “Stiles told me that you, him and Boyd went for three days straight over Thanksgiving Break.”

“Yeah, but that wasn't for Valentine’s Day. Would you want to go to Laser Tag on Valentine’s Day?” Scott eyes him intensely. “Wait. Would you?”

Derek snorts. “No. But I’m also not Allison or Danny's boyfriend or Kira.”

Scott groans. “Let’s move on. What about presents? Is chocolate and flowers too cheesy or just right?”

Derek says, “No, that’s fine. But I also think something more personalized would be nice. Something creative? She’s an engineering major, right? Maybe you could do something with computers or circuits.”

Okay, so he didn’t know what it is the engineering undergrads actually did. So sue him.

Scott is nodding, and Derek is still confused. He's pretty sure this is one of the longest conversations the two of them had ever had, and they were talking about Valentine’s Day. Sine when was everyone so worked up about this?

“Okay, cool. So those are the kinds of gifts to get. Personalized. Now about expectations on the first date. What about the sex? Yay or nay?” Scott asks.

Derek thinks he is going to choke on his own spit. “You know, Scott. I can’t really answer that. You seriously need to talk to Kira about this. Consent is a conversation that has to happen. Look, don't stress this. I'm sure your date will be great."

Scott’s phone begins to buzz again, and Scott scowls when he looks down at it.

“Sorry dude, I gotta go. But thanks so much, this is a big help,” he says when he looks back up, phone still vibrating in his hand.

“No problem,” Derek says, blinking back at him.

Scott nods at him, and pushes his notebook back into his bag. “Wait, you never answered, do you have any big plans for Valentine’s? You know, did you ask anyone out?”

Derek grunts. “No, I’m just going to be here. Working on my paper.”

Scott nods slowly. “Ah. Well. Isn’t that… interesting.”

Scott gives Derek a smile that looks too conniving for Derek’s liking, and goes to leave the library.

By the time Derek goes to sleep that morning, he still has no idea what had happened.

 

### Saturday, February Eighth, 12:56 A.M.

Erica is grinning manically when Derek gets into work. Next to her Boyd is clearly pretending not to be delighted at how happy Erica looks. Derek tries not to groan, and instead reminding himself that Boyd is his best friend and he’s happy for the two of them.

A moment later, Derek reminds himself to forget that notion when Boyd turns to look at Derek, and his loving smile becomes broad and a little creepy. Derek has to actively not shrink back at how manic he looks.

“Hi?” Derek tries, as he shoves off his jacket. He’s exhausted; he had a meeting with his advisor at nine A.M., meaning he only got to take a short nap between the time he got off of work and when he had to go onto campus. He was only able to go back to sleep after dinner, which meant he skipped the gym. His sleep cycle felt all fucked up, and he just wanted his bed when he should’ve been wide awake.

“There’s a present for you in the main office!” Erica blurts out. She glances over at Boyd as if he is going to chastise her, but he just winks instead. Erica grins back at him. Derek hopes they won’t start kissing at the front desk. Again.

“I have a present? From you?” Derek asks, draping his jacket onto the hook. From behind Boyd, he can see Stiles sitting at the Research Desk with Danny. Both of them, who had been staring in his direction, quickly swivel their chairs to look at the computers in front of them instead. Stiles seems to realize something, then quickly waves up to Derek before hiding behind his computer again. Derek frowns.

“No, it’s not from me. It’s from a secret admirer!” Erica squeals. “And no, I don’t know who it is. The person who works before me let me know someone dropped it off earlier.”

“Seems pretty romantic,” Boyd says, raising his eyebrows at Derek.

Derek glances over at the Research Desk, before frowning. He walks around to the back, and opens the main office door. Sitting on his boss’s desk is a bouquet of purple flowers. He can see a large white tag attached with his name on it. As he leans in, he frowns, and notices that the flowers are fake. Not only that, they look suspiciously like Acontium. He can feel his face pull into a frown as he reaches for the typewritten card to read it.

“So?” Erica says, raising an eyebrow and smiling when he comes back out. “What does the note say? Who’s it from?”

Derek scowls. “It doesn’t say. I’m just going to throw them out.”

Boyd says, “What?”

Derek answers, “They’re fake Wolf’s Bane.”

Erica blinks rapidly, before bursting into laughter. Boyd looks like he is trying not to smile as well.

“Come on, man, that’s sweet. They’re obviously from someone who knows you,” Boyd says.

Derek glares. “Why would anyone send someone poisonous flowers? They’re probably from Cora. She knows I’ve been having a rough time with my writing process lately, and is just being an asshole.”

“Der, everyone knows you’ve been having a rough time writing lately,” Erica says. “But honestly, this seems really cute.”

“Better then someone sending you real Wolf’s Bane,” Boyd comments.

Derek glares, and glances back to the Research Desk. Stiles is staring at him, a highlighter cap in his mouth. He smiles hesitantly at Derek, who can’t even manage to smile back.

“Come on, Derek. The note doesn’t say who it’s from?” Boyd asks, giving Derek an assessing look.

“The inside says ‘from your secret admirer,’ with a badly drawn heart,” Derek says.

“Badly drawn heart?” Boyd asks, clearly unimpressed with Derek’s reactions. “Someone spent the time to buy you some fake poisonous flowers and you’re gonna critique their drawing skills.”

Derek glares at him some more, as Boyd continues to look at him like he’s the least romantic person on the planet.

“What if its not from Cora?” Erica says, giving him a pointed look. “What if it’s from someone who is really trying to be sweet?”

Derek shrugs uncomfortably, and looks at the Research Desk again. Lydia is there now, sitting on top of it, next to Stile’s computer. He is running his hand through his hair, looking extremely frustrated. Lydia seems to be ignoring him, instead talking to Danny.

When he looks back at Boyd and Erica, they’re both giving him pitying looks, as if they know exactly what he’s thinking.

“It doesn’t matter. Look, why don’t you two head home? My shift’s started,” Derek says instead, pulling out his laptop and grimacing at the screen.

“Don’t throw the flowers away, Der,” Erica says instead of pushing this further. Boyd nods in his agreement, and they sign their timesheets and leave.

Derek fires off a sarcastic text to Cora, and tries not to stare at Stiles over the top of his laptop.

He tells himself he’s not disappointed when Stiles leaves with Lydia and Danny a few minutes later with only a passing wave towards the Circulation Desk.

He tells himself it’s not ridiculous that he’s bringing the fake plant home with him when he leaves for the morning.

 

### Sunday, February Ninth, 12:58 A.M.

Kira is standing in front of the desk, an impressive stack of books piled in front of her. Allison is smiling and chatting with her as she checks in books. Greenberg is over at the right workstation doing something that will probably get him fired; when he notices Derek walking in, he minimized the window quickly.

“Derek,” Allison says, giving him a nod.

Derek isn't sure what to think about Allison. He had been awkward and cold the first time he had met her. He had previously dated her aunt, Kate, when he was a teenager. It had ended after she had tried threatened to burn his family alive during one of their fights. He knew Allison wasn’t Kate; she and Scott had ended their relationship amiably, and she seemed to make Isaac happy. But still, Derek saw flashes of that brutal, precise anger whenever a patron was pissing her off. She was also apparently on the school’s archery team, which Stiles liked to tease her about.

It’s usually not a big thing, because this semester he hasn’t really seen her. He usually doesn’t work the late night/early morning shifts on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, but the person who usually does it is away at a conference; Derek volunteered to make some extra money. It’s also going to give him some extra time to stare at everything he’s written in disgust.

Derek nods back and says hello. As he takes off his jacket, Greenberg mutters a hasty goodbye and flees from the library. Derek barely glances at him, and instead notes that Stiles is not working at the Research Desk tonight.

“He didn’t delete his browser history,” Allison mentions casually, pointing towards the workstation Greenberg was at. “I’m pretty sure he was stalking Professor Finstock on Facebook.”

Derek makes a face, and goes to fill in his timecard. He pretends not to notice Kira looking at him critically as Allison continues to check out her books. He had only met her briefly a few times, since she had stared working at the Research Desk this semester. Stiles seemed wary of befriending her, and hadn’t really seemed to warm up once she and Scott had started hanging out. Derek was starting to see a possessive pattern when it came to Scott.

“By the way, Derek, you have a package in the back,” Allison says as she finished checking out Kira’s books.

“What?” Derek says, trying not to notice how slowly Kira is putting her books back into her bag.

“Greenberg said it was back there when he got into work,” Allison mentions. “Something about a secret admirer?”

Derek groans, and heads into the back again, telling himself he needs to call Cora. She had ignored the text he had sent her last night.

Siting on the table is a pink box covered in more badly drawn hearts. His name is messily scrawled across the top. Derek picks it up and opens it, raising his eyebrows. Inside are large chocolate lumps on wax paper. They look like homemade monstrosities; dried chocolate is all over the inside of the box, and Derek has no idea how to even interpret this.

He brings the entire box out with him, and places it next to Allison’s workstation. They’re technically not supposed to have food out at the desk, but it’s one in the morning, and someone’s left him a chocolate mess.

“Well, that’s… interesting,” Allison says when she peers into the box. Kira is still in the front of the desk, placing books into her bag one at a time.

“I.” Derek manages, wishing that Erica or Boyd or Isaac was working with him. They would probably know what to do with this.

“That’s a lot of chocolate,” Allison observes, looking up at him with a small smile. “Feel like sharing? I’m technically off now that you’re here.”

Derek tentatively picks one of the chocolate masses up, and smells at it. “Go ahead. Though I have no idea where this came from.”

He figures this couldn’t have been Cora. She hates baking, and this present actually seems nice. Maybe this secret admirer was actually trying to be sweet. Unless, of course, these were actually poisoned, in order to throw him off.

Allison picks one up as well, and tentatively breaks it in half. She and Derek stare at the middle, which seems to be a layer of icing stuck between two cookies. Derek watches as Allison takes a bite. She chews, and smiles.

“This is good,” she says. “It’s like, marshmallow fluff and graham crackers.”

Derek says, still staring at the cookie in his hand, “I don’t understand.”

Kira, whom Derek forgot was still standing at the desk, clears her throat. “Sorry to interrupt. But those are actually called Moon Pies.”

Derek stiffens, and places the cookie back in the box.

Allison frowns, and continues eating her Moon Pie. “Are you okay?”

Derek can’t find the words to explain that he’s pretty sure someone is making fun of him, his thesis, and his complete inability to write anything.

“That’s cute,” Kira says, staring at Derek with an indecipherable look. “I mean, since Valentine’s Day is also the Full Moon. Allison said that was a secret admirer?”

Derek stares down at the box of cookies and glares at is. He’s pretty sure someone is being a complete asshole to him on purpose, and he has no idea why.

Allison is saying, “Yeah, apparently Derek got flowers yesterday. It seems really sweet.”

“Not when the theme seems to be reminding me of how awful I am at writing my own goddamn thesis,” Derek snaps.

Kira looks like she wants to say something, but instead bites the inside of her cheek. Allison is frowning.

“I’m sorry,” Derek manages to grit out, feeling like a dickhead. “That was uncalled for.”

Kira smile before closing her backpack.

“It’s okay,” Kira says, a thoughtful look on her face. “Well. Have a goodnight. See you in photography, Allison.”

Allison smiles back, and turns towards Derek once Kira walks away. Her eyebrows are raised impossibly high.

“We’re not friends,” she says bluntly, “But Isaac adores you; he gets miserable when you’re really upset. So just some advice? Calm down. It’s Valentine’s week, Derek.  I’m sure your secret admirer is actually just that, and not someone fucking with you.”

Derek mumbles something incoherent, and Allison smiles sweetly at him. He wants to grunt at her and her goddamn dimples.

“And even if they are someone fucking with you, why don’t you just let it go, and enjoy your free gifts?” She says, before turning to pack up her things.

Later, Derek pretends that he doesn’t eat half the box of Moon Pies during his shift. He also pretends that he writes more then one sentence.

 

### Monday, February Tenth, 1:01 A.M.

Scott and Erica are working at the desk, and Derek has to stop himself from tripping when he sees Stiles at the Research Desk. He’s sitting on top of it, stretching when Derek enters the building, a slither of his stomach showing. Derek wants to lick his way down his happy trail.

“Derek!” Stiles yells across the room, directing his smile towards him as Derek walks behind the Circulation Desk. Someone shushes at him, and Stiles turns to glare. Derek forces himself to stop staring at Stiles, and instead takes off his jacket.

“You have another present from your secret admirer,” Erica teases him a moment later, nodding toward the back. “Did you save any chocolate for me?”

Derek glares. “How did you know about that?”

Erica gives him the same look she gives patrons who try to flirt their way out of library fines. “Kira told Scott, Allison told Isaac, Scott told Stiles, Isaac told Boyd, Stiles told me, Boyd told me, does it matter?”

Derek does not notice Scott and Erica glance at one another as he rubs his hand over his eyes. “I’ve got to find a way to make my private life _private._ ”

“Oh please, Derek, you love it,” Erica says dismissively. “Also, Cora told me to tell you to stop blaming her, that she’d never spend money on making you miserable when she can do that for free.”

“You’d think I’d talk to my own sister more then you do,” Derek mutters darkly.

“Laura says hi, also,” Erica mentions sweetly. “We talked on the phone today over her lunch break.”

“Laura doesn’t even go here!” Derek snaps, wondering how this became him life. “She lives in fucking New York, how the hell did you get her number?”

As Erica looks as Derek smugly, Scott interrupts, “You didn’t enjoy your present?”

Derek shrugs uncomfortably. “They were good.”

“Why don’t you go get your new one,” Erica says, smiling with all her teeth. “Open it out so we can see!”

Derek glances at Stiles, who has moved into a chair, but now has his feet propped up on the Research Desk. He waves when he sees Derek looking at him, sending him a crooked grin. Derek feels his heart twist, and waves back.

“Christ, just go get the present,” Erica mutters at him. Derek blushes, and goes into the back, retrieves a small red box with a pink bow stuck haphazardly on top, and comes back to the Circulation Desk.

“Looks fancy,” Scott says, glancing at Erica before he smiles at Derek. “That’s good!”

Erica looks like she’s about to burst from excitement, so Derek just sighs, and opens the box. Inside is a silver chain; when he picks it up, he notices that there’s an oblong charm on it. He holds it up and frowns deeply as it dangles between his fingers.

“Is this a bullet?” he asks incredulously, staring at it.

“Woah,” Erica says, eyebrows raised, “That’s – wow.”

“My secret admirer got me a silver bullet necklace,” he says flatly, before placing it back into the box.

Scott looks uncomfortable. “You don’t look too happy.”

“I just,” Derek feels his throat close up, as his body stiffens. Erica has her eyebrows furred at him. “This has got to be a joke. Someone is fucking with me.”

“Derek!” She says, narrowing her eyes at him, “Why would you say that?”

“Yeah dude,” Scott says, looking upset, “This is really cool. It looks like someone went to a lot of lengths to -”

“To remind me of badly my thesis is going?” Derek grinds out, frustrated that no one seems to understand.

“What are you talking about?” Erica says, jabbing him in the side with one red nail.

Derek gestures towards the box in his hand. “You don’t think it’s weird that two of the three gifts I’ve gotten are about how to kill werewolves? Someone is mocking me.”

Erica says, realization dawning in her eyes, “oh, Derek.”

Scott says, “Derek, I really don’t think so. I think whomever it is trying to cheer you up.”

“By sending me things that are poisonous to what I’m studying, essentially?” Derek snarks back, raising an eyebrow.

“I don’t think that’s it,” Erica says. “All this stuff, Wolf’s Bane, the moon, silver bullets, has to do with lore, right? So maybe it was stuff to cheer you up. Like, remind you of why you even were first interested in that stuff in the first place.”

“Motivation!” Scott said loudly. Derek notices that Stiles is still staring in their direction. "It seems like it's supposed to be motivation, to get you out of your writing rut."

“Come on, Derek,” Erica is saying. “It’s not like you’re an actual werewolf.”

Derek looks back at the box in his hand. It is pretty cool, even though he’s never been one of those guys who wears jewelry.

Derek tries not to feel too disappointed when Stiles only comes by the desk to say goodbye as he, Scott and Erica leave.

He also slips the necklace on, only feeling a little silly, and actually manages an entire paragraph by the time his shift is over.

 

### Tuesday, February Eleventh, 1:17 A.M.

Derek runs into the library, about fifteen minutes late for his shift, and finds Stiles sitting behind the Circulation Desk like he belongs there. He has a textbook open in front of him, and he has one hand in his hair, tugging at it.

“You don’t belong behind the desk,” Derek snaps at him, instead of saying something completely off-putting like, _I could tug on your hair, if you’d like. In bed._

Stiles looks up and grins. “And you shouldn’t be late to work. Luckily for you, I offered to sit here until you got in so you wouldn’t have to deal with petulant Circulation workers.”

“Shouldn’t you be working at your own job?” Derek says, instead, trying to tell himself to calm down as he takes off his outerwear. He glances over at the Research Desk, noting that it looks closed for the night.

“I actually wasn’t scheduled for today, I’ll have you know,” Stiles says, rolling his eyes. “I was just doing homework, noticed you weren’t here. Thought I’d wait around. I haven’t gotten to bother you lately.”

“You're not a bother,” Derek says before he can stop himself.

Stiles grins. “Dude, you totally love me. Come one, everyone knows. Just admit it, and then you can have Valentine’s plans that don’t involve you sitting alone in the library.”

Derek freezes, his mind going blank. “I-”

As he stutters, he watches Stiles’s eyes go carefully blank, the smile stuck on his face.

“Derek,” Stiles says, after a tense moment, before tossing something to him.

Derek catches it reflexively, and looks down to see another small, red box in his hands. He can feel his heart beating rapidly, and he looks up to raise his eyebrows at Stiles.

“Stiles?”

Stiles scoffs, brushing at the textbook in front of him. “I was just kidding. I found it sitting in the back room. Looks like your secret admirer is keeping this thing going. Maybe you actually will have a date on Valentine’s.”

Derek feels his stomach twist, and he tightens his grip around the box. He's being ridiculous, again. For a hopeful moment he had thought… but it didn’t matter. Stiles wasn’t into him, and now he went and made it weird. Again. It was no wonder Stiles hadn’t stopped at the desk since the previous Wednesday. Derek was practically leaking his pathetic emotions all over the Circulation Desk.

Derek opens the box to find a USB drive, with a red label raped around it. He has to rotate it in his hands in order to read the entire title.

“Darling It Is No Joke, This Is Lovecanthropy?” He says, eyebrows shooting up.

He looks up to see Stiles grinning at him, like his secret admirer is the cleverest human being on campus. Derek feels the twist in his stomach turn into a knot, looking at how Stiles isn’t even a bit jealous about this. Derek would be probably be growling and tense if Stiles had a secret admirer.

You know. One that wasn’t him.

“That’s – man, you’ve got to hook this into your computer!” Stiles says excitedly, grabbing at the USB in his hand.

Derek tries his best not to slouch, and simply digs through his messenger bag to hand his laptop off to Stiles.

He has to admit, after yesterday’s talk with Erica and Scott, this whole thing was pretty cute. He spent a lot of the day trying to be optimistic, that whomever was sending him these gifts was trying to be encouraging towards him, trying to cheer him up. But he hadn’t allowed himself to even think that it could be Stiles, and now that the proof was in front of him… whatever. Anyway, at this point he was almost positive this was all Erica’s doing. She would set up something deliberate like this, to make her friends feel better.

Derek sighs, and watches as Stiles plugs the USB in, and begins to laugh at the screen. Derek can see him fiddling around until he finds a music player, and turns the volume on low.

Derek leans in behind Stiles, physically stopping himself from getting too close and doing something like kissing his neck. Stiles is chuckling, the sound making Derek feel warm all over.

“Classic,” he says, clicking around until Duran Duran’s ‘Hungry Like A Wolf’ starts to play.

Derek can't stop the smile from dancing onto his lips. His secret admirer has created a playlist for him, made up entirely of werewolf-themed songs. Some of them were more obvious classics, like ‘I Was A Teenage Werewolf,’ but there were some other more recent songs, like ‘Wild Ones.’

“Of course,” Derek says, jabbing at the screen next to Shakira’s name.

“My body’s craving, so feed the hungry?” Stiles says, turning his face and winking up at Derek.

Derek wants to lean in, wants to tug at his ridiculous hair, wants to kiss him to ridiculous 80’s ballads.

“What do you say?” Stiles asks instead, turning his face away. “Do you think this is a new playlist to get you through your writing?”

“I’ve actually been writing more lately,” Derek says, backing away from Stiles. He doesn’t need to be so close to him. He doesn’t need that at all.

“So I guess your secret admirer is really helping you out after all,” Stiles says, spinning in the chair and grinning at him.

“Yeah,” Derek says, shrugging.

Stiles frowns. “Why aren’t you more excited about this? Dude, someone is really into you, and they’re trying to help you with your thesis.”

Derek hesitates, and doesn’t look at Stiles when he answers, “I’m pretty sure it’s not from the person I want it to be from.”

Stiles is quiet for a moment, before he says, “How do you know?”

When Derek finally looks at him, Stiles looks concerned. Derek shakes his head, raising his eyebrows.

“I think it’s pretty obvious that this is all from Erica, trying to cheer me up,” he says.

Stiles eyes bulge as he coughs out, “You think this is all from _Erica?_ ”

Derek shrugs. “At first I thought it was Cora fucking with me. But now, who else could it be but Erica? She’s the only one I know who would go through this much effort for a friend-”

“Derek, this isn’t Erica! Believe me, I’d know.” Stiles snaps, waving his arms around. “Also, dude? There’s no way this stuff is from someone who’s thinking about you as just a friend.”

Derek frowns. “Look, I really appreciate this, now. It’s nice, unbelievably nice. I don’t see how it’s not platonic, though. That’s why I thought it was Erica.”

Stiles groans. “This is all romantic shit. A bunch of gifts, very clearly thought out, the week before Valentine’s? It’s not Erica. I’m pretty sure she’s not trying to woo you into helping her break up with Boyd.”

Derek frowns. “But-”

“Come on, Derek,” Stiles says, looking outraged on behalf of this secret admirer, “They sent you flowers, chocolate, jewelry, mood music. This person? Clearly into you.”

Derek says, “How did you know all that?”

Stiles flaps his hand around, and seems to calm down. “Dude. Our mutual friends? Huge gossips.”

Derek sighs, and shakes his head. “That doesn’t really change things. Now I just feel like an asshole for leading this person on by accepting this gifts.”

“What,” Stiles says flatly, “What does that even mean.”

Derek admits, “Okay, so I don’t actually know who this is all from. But I’m pretty sure it’s not… you know.” He lets his sentence trail off, feeling exposed. _You. I’m pretty sure it’s not from you._

“Sometimes,” Stiles says, rubbing at the back of his neck, “Sometimes people surprise you, you know. You might think that they want someone else. Or maybe that you’re just not looking at them the same way they look at you. I mean, you don’t have to give anyone a chance if you don’t want to. But at least the possibility is there. If you’re open to it.”

Derek can feel his heart clenching. “Okay.”

Stiles hesitates. “Look, Derek. I-”

“Excuse me, is it too late to check out books?” A girl asks from the other side of the desk, waving a book in their direction. Stile sighs, and pushes himself out of the way as Derek takes her library card and the book. Derek can feel Stiles staring at him as he checks out the book, and tells her the end of the semester due date. He feels hurt and confused, but the worst part is, he knows that he has no right to. It’s just difficult for him to hear Stiles be so ardently pro-this secret admirer when all Derek wants is Stiles. It just can't be any clearer that Stiles doesn’t want him, and now he’s worried about whether or not Stiles actually knows about his obnoxious crush.

“What were you saying?” Derek asks, when he’s finished with the patron.

Stiles is smiling again, the same one that doesn’t quiet reach his eyes. “Just, I think you should just enjoy this. Give it a chance. Who knows what’ll happen on Valentine’s right? I mean, hell. Even I have plans.”

Derek grimaces instead of smiling back. “Right.”

Stiles quirks an eyebrow at him, before sliding out of his chair. He begins to pack up his belongings, and putting on his jacket. Derek can only stare at him awkwardly.

Stiles says, “Anyway. I should get going. It’s late. And you have music to be inspired by.”

Derek can barely mutter a goodnight before Stiles is clapping him on the back.

Weirdly enough, he cranks out two pages, his playlist on repeat the entire morning.

 

### Wednesday, February Twelfth, 1:05 A.M.

“Boyd wanted to open your gift but I told him not to,” Isaac says to Derek, his jacket only halfway off.

Derek shoots Boyd an annoyed look; Boyd only smiles complacently back at him, a package wrapped in pink sitting in his lap.

“I’m pretty sure he’s more excited about this then you are,” Isaac comments.

“That’s because this shit is romantic,” Boyd shoots back. “Don’t be mad that you’re basically a shriveled up husk of pragmatism. What are you getting Allison for Valentine’s? Tube socks?”

Derek sighs, glancing over towards the Research Desk. Kira is helping a student, while Lydia looks on critically. Derek can almost see as Kira rolls her eyes, shooting Lydia and annoyed look.

“Can you two shut up, and pass me the damn present?” Derek asks, feeling resigned. He had spent half the day listening to the playlist and feeling really great about the progress he was making on his thesis. The other half of the day he spent going over his conversation with Stiles over and over. He had already polished off the Moon Pies, so he was forced to buy a bag of pink, white and red M&Ms while he moped.

“Eager, are we?” Isaac asks, wiggling his eyebrows. Boyd rolls his eyes, and passes the present over to Derek.

"Shut up," Derek says.

“Have you eve thought about what you’re going to do when this mystery person reveals themselves?” Isaac asks, raising his eyebrows.

“You should probably ask them if they would like you to go down on them, and then do it if they consent,” Boyd comments. “Anyone who puts this much effort in for your grumpy, unsocial ass deserves some good oral.”

Derek rolls his eyes, and then stiffens. Fuck. He had spent so much time wallowing over Stiles, he had forgotten that this person was actually going to reveal themselves. Right? That was how this sort of thing worked?

“I’m just going to thank them for the gifts and that will be that,” Derek says. “I’m just not interested.”

“How do you know?” Isaac asks. “You don’t even know who it is. Hence, the secret part of secret admirer.”

“Yes, thank you Isaac, for that insightful definition,” Derek snaps.

“He’s just not interested because he doesn’t think it’s Stiles,” Boyd comments, giving Derek an unreadable look.

“Shut up,” Derek growls. “This isn’t – it doesn’t matter. Stop listening to Erica.”

Isaac and Boyd exchange a look, which Derek pretends not see as he opens his latest present.

“Well it’s definitely someone who knows you,” Isaac comments. “Well, maybe not. I’ve heard you ranting at your advisor from the Philosophy department.”

Derek ignores him, and pulls out something that he hasn’t seen since he was a teenager.

“Is that a CD wallet?” Boyd asks, raising one of his eyebrows.

“Didn’t you already get a USB mix-tape yesterday?” Isaac asks.

Derek gives him a look, before zipping the case open.

Boyd says simply, “Stiles has a big mouth.”

Derek growls, annoyed, before flipping through the CD wallet.

It’s an entire collection of movies, burned onto blank DVDs, each one carefully labeled in red permanent marker. Derek doesn’t recognize the handwriting; it’s big and loopy.

“I wonder why these aren’t on a USB too?” Isaac asks, coming over behind Derek to read over his shoulder as he reads through the titles.There’s the classics, like _The Werewolf_ ; some he’s never heard of, like _The Company of Wolves_ ; some fairly recent ones like _Van Helsing_ and, oddly enough, _Twilight: New Moon._ Derek has to stop himself from making a face.

“Probably so he can watch them on a DVD player instead of doing all the work to hook up a laptop his television,” Boyd says. “You know Derek doesn’t know how to do that shit.”

“ _Teen Wolf_ ,” Isaac reads. “Classic.”

Derek can’t stop himself from imagining Stiles, wrapped in a blanket on his couch. The two of them pressed together, half-eaten bowl of popcorn on the floor, as they marathon these movies.

These movies that someone else got for him. Fuck.

“What the hell is wrong with you now?” Boyd asks, pointing at Derek. “You suddenly look miserable.”

“This is definitely a Stiles thing,” Isaac says, sounding disgusted. Derek shoves Isaac away from him, and then snaps the CD wallet shut.

“I don’t fucking – this is not a Stiles thing,” Derek grinds out. He places his hand over his eyes as he massages at his forehead. He can feel a headache coming on, and he’s over this entire conversation.

Isaac gives him an exaggerated eyeroll. “Derek. Everyone knows. Everyone.”

“Except Stiles,” Boyd says. “This whole thing is pathetic.”

“Quite frankly, I agree,” Isaac says, looking pointedly at the case in Derek’s hands.

“Why don’t we just tell him already?” Boyd asks, nudging his head towards Derek.

Isaac shakes his head. “Erica will kill you.”

Derek removes his hand from his eyes and snaps, “ _I_ will kill you. No one is telling Stiles anything. There’s nothing to tell.”

The phone rings at the desk, and Derek is glad for the interruption.

“Main Library, Circulation Desk,” he growls at the phone.

“Your bedside manner needs working on,” a sharp, female voice says in his ear. Derek glances towards the Research Desk to see Lydia staring directly at him. Her lips are pursed, and she has the desk phone up to her ear.

“Lydia, what do you want?” Derek asks, annoyed.

“Tell your little friends there that they’re not too quiet, and that I will personally take it upon myself to hurt them if they don’t shut the hell up,” she snaps back.

Before Derek can speak again, he hears the dial tone in his ear. He glares over at the Research Desk, where Lydia is once again reading over Kira’s shoulder.

“Lydia says to shut the hell up,” Derek says to Boyd and Isaac. “And I agree with her, for once.”

Boyd rolls his eyes as Isaac looks marginally frightened.

“Derek, just calm down. Everything will turn out fine,” Boyd says to him. Derek doesn’t say anything, just watches them as they pack up to go.

He ends up watching two of the movies during his shift, and is so inspired he writes four and a half pages.

 

### Thursday, February Thirteenth, 1:04 A.M.

“You’re gonna get laid tomorrow!” Erica yells as soon as Derek is behind the desk.

A few patrons turn to look at Derek; a girl with glasses looks him up and down, as if she’s considering being the one to have sex with him.

“Erica,” Derek hisses, while Isaac laughs. Derek averts his gaze towards Stiles, who is over at the Research Desk. Derek can see him, blushing, as he rubs at the back of his neck. Lydia gives him a dirty look, then turns back to the student she is helping.

“Word in the street is you’re gonna meet your secret admirer tomorrow night,” Erica says, in a much lower voice. “And you’re going to have the sex.”

“The sex?” Derek quotes back, rolling his eyes. What was with that phrase? “Not going to happen. And who even told you that?”

Erica shrugs, looking at him slyly. “I have it from a good source.”

“I’m not sleeping with anyone,” Derek grinds out. “I’m working tomorrow morning and then I’m going to spend the rest of the day writing and sleeping.”

“No, you’re gonna be having sex all day,” Erica says.

“Derek keeps saying he’s not into his secret admirer,” Isaac adds helpfully. “Though, he doesn’t even know who it is, so I don’t know how he can make that judgment.”

“I’m not going to have sex with someone just because they buy me presents!” Derek finally explodes as quietly as he can.

He’s apparently not quiet enough, because a few more students look up at him. Lydia looks annoyed, and Stiles is – Stiles is ambling over, his face pink.

“I really don’t want to stay to watch this,” Isaac groans, slumping until his head is on the desk.

“It sounds like you’re having much more fun over here then I am at Research, cringing every time Lydia snaps at that poor freshman,” Stiles says when he’s at the desk. He’s smiling openly at Derek, his eyes sparkling. Derek wants to kiss him, and slide his hands in his hair.

“Derek keeps saying he’s not going to fuck the secret admirer, but I think he will,” Erica says, grinning sharply. “Don’t you, Stiles?”

Stiles sputters. “Derek should do whatever he wants. He’s not obligated to fuck anyone.”

“Ugh,” Isaac mutters, then says a string of words that Derek can’t quite make out.

“Oh shut up and go make out with your scarf,” Stiles snaps.

“That one didn’t even make sense,” Isaac lifts his head, and sneers. “Why don’t you go make out with D-”

“Shut up, both of you,” Erica snaps, glaring at Isaac. She reaches into one of the lateral drawers, and pulls out a white box, with a striped red and green ribbon stuck on top of it.

“It’s not actually Christmas, is it?” Isaac asks sarcastically.

Stiles glares, as Erica passes the present over to Derek.

“The last one before the big night,” she says, winking. “You ready for this?”

Derek ignores her, and tears into the box. He reaches in, and pulls out something that’s soft, fluffy, and covered in leather.

“It’s you!” Erica coos. Isaac stares in mild disgust, and Stiles has the largest grin on his face.

Derek stares at the stuffed animal in his hand. It’s a wolf, with shining blue eyes, wearing a leather jacket. Between its front paws is heart-shaped frame. The frame is empty.

“The frame is empty,” Derek says.

“They’re probably going to give you a photo or something tomorrow,” Erica says.

“Wouldn’t want to ruin the mystery a night early,” Stiles says, winking.

Derek feels his chest constricting, and unconsciously clutches the wolf closer to him.

“This is so cute, Derek,” Erica is smiling.

“Yeah, dude, there’s no way you can turn this person down now,” Stiles says, looking at Derek hopefully. “Not with something this adorable.”

“I need to use the bathroom,” Derek mumbles, pushing the stuffed wolf onto the counter and stalking towards the restroom in the back offices.

Derek hears Erica call his name; he hears Stiles curse. He doesn’t stop.

He is such an idiot. Why is this bothering him so much, Stiles so eagerly pushing this mystery person onto him? He already knows that Stiles isn't into him. He’s starting to feel anxious. No matter how adorable, how sweet all of this had been, it’s not Stiles. And right now he doesn’t want to stand there and smile and joke and think about how Stiles has plans for Valentine’s Day and is so very, clearly happy that Derek is spending his with someone else, and –

“Dude!” A hand falls onto his shoulder, tugs at him.

Derek turns, and of course it’s Stiles, looking at him with concern.

“You’re not allowed to be back here,” Derek says, glaring.

Stiles is staring at him with confusion and hurt. “Dude, I was just kidding. You know that, right? You don’t have to do anything with anyone -”

“Thanks for the surprising update,” Derek snaps.

Stiles balks. “Woah, okay. I’m sorry.”

Derek shrugs.

“But, you like it, right? The gifts and stuff? I thought… you looked pretty happy,” Stiles says hesitantly. “That’s the only thing I – I mean, we, that’s the only thing we want, Derek. You’ve been so miserable lately, but then all the secret admirer stuff happened -”

“You just don’t get it Stiles,” Derek says, cutting him off. “It’s not – whatever. You’re right. I’m just gonna go ahead and give this person a chance. They deserve that much at least.”

Stiles is still looking at him with a concerned look on his face, and Derek can’t take it.

“Derek, I-”

Derek cuts him off, not wanting to talk to him any more about this. “Stiles, forget it, okay?”

Stiles mumbles, “Fine. I just don’t think you’re being very fair here.”

Derek barks out a laugh. He can’t help it. “Fair. Right. Look, I really have to go.”

Stiles is frowning. “Okay?”

“I probably won’t see you tomorrow, so have a nice date. I’m sure it’ll be great,” Derek manages to bite out, before nodding curtly and turning on his heel.

“Derek – what? Is that what this is about?” he hears Stiles call out, sounding confused.

Derek pretends he can’t hear him, and locks himself into the bathroom. He stands at the sink, staring at himself in the mirror, berating himself for everything that had just happened and for becoming a heartbroken teenager cliché. He's a grown man, lashing out at the guy he likes because he wasn’t interested. And now he's having an emotional moment in a fucking bathroom. Could he be more pathetic?

He waits about ten minutes before heading back out. He feels bad, leaving Erica and Isaac at the desk when their shift had ended already. But he needs time before he sees Stiles again. He needs time to become a rational human being, where he can go back to just being Stiles's friend and blame all of this on thesis stress.

When he comes back out, Erica is the only one behind the Circulation Desk, and the Research Desk is shut down. She’s all bundled up, clearly waiting for him to come back so she can leave.

“You’re an idiot,” Erica says, shoving the stuffed wolf at Derek’s chest.

“I know,” he says simply.

Erica rolls her eyes. “Ugh. And you’re a sad ball of fluff. This is awful. I can’t wait for it to be over.”

Erica kisses him on the cheek and leaves. Derek pulls out his laptop to start writing.

He pretends that he’s not cradling the stuffed wolf in his lap the entire shift.

 

### Friday, February Fourteenth, 12:58 A.M.

The library door is locked.

Derek knows this because when he tries to push it open, it stubbornly refuses to move, and Derek hurts his arm from the shock of that. Who knew a glass door could hurt that much?

He curses under his breath, and tries to peer through the doors. Everything looks dark, except for the Circulation Desk; he can’t even see anyone inside.

He pulls out his phone in order to call campus security to see what the hell is going on, when Erica and Scott appear in front of him.

He taps on the door and says, “What the fuck.”

Scott pulls a key out of his pocket, and opens the door, a huge smile on his face.

“Your mystery date awaits,” Erica says, winking at Derek.

“What the fuck,” Derek repeats flatly, as he pushes past them into the building.

“Don’t look so grumpy,” Scott says, the smile turning into a disgruntled glare. “We got permission from the boss and everything. We’re just leaving.”

“Permission from the boss to do what? Shut down the entire library?” Derek asks, incredulously.

“Yup,” Erica confirms. “Now go out there and go to bone town.”

Scott chuckles. “Bone town. Dude. You're gonna be having so much of the sex.”

“We’re leaving now,” Erica says, taking the key from Scott and passing it to Derek. “Anyone who wants to study late night tonight is just going to have to do it in their bed.”

Derek stands still, confused, as he watches Erica and Scott leave.

“Now lock the door behind us,” Scott advises. “And good luck, bro.”

Derek watches them leave, key poised mid-air. He stands there, confused, before following Scott’s instructions.

His heart feels like it’s about to beat out of his chest as he turns and walks into the main space, feeling disoriented and nervous. Sitting on the Circulation Desk is one last box, this one wrapped in red. There’s no one else in sight, and Derek’s stomach is in knots. He takes off his bag and jacket, leaving them on a pile by the front of the desk, before picking up the box.

It’s extremely light, and when he opens it, there’s nothing in it but a heart-shaped piece of paper. When Derek picks it up, he realizes it is photo paper. He turns it over and blinks multiple times, feeling his mouth drop open.

“Like what you see?” Stiles says, from somewhere behind him. "It's supposed to go in the picture frame. You know, for the stuffed wolf."

Derek turns, and feels his face go red.

Stiles is standing there, looking so fucking cute in formal black pants and a red button-up shirt, a bouquet of roses in one hand and a half dozen red and pink Valentine’s balloons in the other.

“I – you – what?” Derek stutters, glancing between Stiles and the photo in his hand. It’s of Stiles, of course; he’s making a ridiculous, kissing face at the camera.

The Stiles in front of him turns pink. “Surprise, I love you?”

“Stiles?” Derek says, instead of _What the fuck you have broken my brain and I love you let me give you a blow job because fuck Boyd was right._

Stiles chuckles nervously. “I know it was all over the top and corny. But I just, I had to tell you, but you were so grouchy, more then usual, and frustrated. And I hated that you were so upset, and I thought, maybe this could cheer you up. And I know you think I’m in love with Lydia. Well, I am a little, but isn’t everyone? But that’s nothing to how I feel about you, man. And I know I overdid this whole thing. But that’s me, that’s what I do. I just, fuck dude. I’m really in love with you. I understand if you don’t – don’t, you know. But. Shit. Derek?”

Derek carefully places Stiles’s photo on the desk behind him. He really wants to kiss the fuck out of Stiles.

“I really want to kiss the fuck out of you,” he says.

Stiles breaks into a grin. “You totally do love me. I was right.”

Derek closes the space between them, cradling Stiles’s face in his hands roughly before dragging him closer. His lips close over Stiles, and then, holy fuck, they’re kissing. And it’s wonderful, because Stiles’s lips are warm and rough, and Derek wants Stiles’s tongue in his mouth yesterday. As they kiss, Derek can feel Stiles awkwardly trying to wind his arms around Derek’s waist, still clutching at the roses and the balloons.

“I – wow,” Stiles says when they break apart. Derek is still cradling his face, refusing to let go.

“You bought me fake Wolf’s Bane,” Derek says. “And then you bought me real roses.”

“And a whole bunch of other stuff,” Stiles says. “You’re worth it.”

Derek feels overwhelmed and ridiculous and decides he can’t do much except for kiss Stiles’s some more. Stiles is moaning into his mouth, gripping at the back of Derek’s presents as best as he can. He’s licking at the seems of Derek’s mouth, and then there it is, his tongue is sliding against Derek’s and Derek feels like he’s going to die.

Derek pauses to tell him, “I love you too. That’s – I didn’t think it was you. I’m sorry about being an asshole.”

Stiles pulls away slightly to smile at Derek. “I figured, after last night. Before that, I actually thought that someone had told you and that you were trying to tell me you weren’t interested.”

Derek nips at his lip. “Very interested.”

Stiles is smiling so broadly that Derek really does not know what to do with himself. “They were all in on it, you know. All of them. Lydia helped with the organizing, Erica kept Boyd and Isaac in check, Scott did that ridiculous interview. Even Kira helped. She knows how to make Moon Pies.”

Derek laughs low in his throat. “Everything seems to make much more sense now.”

“You know,” Stile says, conspiratorially, “We do have the whole building to ourselves…”

Derek kisses him, sloppily and open-mouthed, before responding, “No.”

“Dude!” Stiles crows. “I did the whole romantic set up for you! I even got the library shut down so I could romance you! I even got you these last minute, actual Valentine’s gifts in case the rest of it didn’t work! I ordered pizza! Don't you want this? Let's have the sex!”

Derek laughs, “That’s perfect. But the sex is not gonna happen here.”

“Well,” Stiles says, kissing Derek once more, “As long as it does happen.”

They end up sitting on the floor, eating pizza and watching werewolf movies until the morning supervisor comes into the library. Stiles ends up laughing the whole way back to Derek’s apartment, and Derek isn’t even embarrassed that said morning supervisor walked in on them with Derek’s hand stroking Stiles’s dick.

Well. He isn’t that embarrassed. It is Valentine’s Day.

 

### Friday, February Fourteenth, 9:45 A.M.

 

Derek wakes up to his phone going off, obnoxiously loud. He’s getting about five incoming text messages all at once, and he doesn’t know what he's done to deserve this.

Stiles grumbles, and snuggles closer to Derek in bed. Derek grabs at his phone, blinking from the bright glare of the screen, and groans.

“No,” Stiles moans, burying his face in Derek’s chest.

“Your friends are idiots,” Derek mutters, flicking through the photos. There’s Scott, Isaac, Boyd, and Erica, all holding up signs that say CONGRATS ON ALL THE SEX!

“They’re your friends too,” Stiles mumbles. “Go back to sleep. I spent all morning romancing you, now I want to cuddle.”

Derek powers his phone down, and tosses it on his bedside table next to his fake plant. He’s more then happy to oblige.

 

(Later on, he wakes up an hour before Stiles does, and cranks out three more pages of his thesis before Stiles attacks him with kisses.)

 


End file.
